Influence is measured by brushstrokes at Greenwich Historical Society show

Christina Hennessy

Published 4:57 pm, Thursday, October 10, 2013

Rob Brown, left, and Jay Dinkins, of Bonsai, N.Y., brings a painting to install the show, The New Spirit and the Cos Cob Art Colony: Before and After the Armory Show, at Greenwich Historical Society in Cos Cob, Conn., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013.
Photo: Helen Neafsey

A painting on the floor during the installation, The New Spirit and the Cos Cob Art Colony: Before and After the Armory Show, at Greenwich Historical Society in Cos Cob, Conn., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013.
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Karen Frederick, curator and exhibitions, makes postcards during the installation, The New Spirit and the Cos Cob Art Colony: Before and After the Armory Show, at Greenwich Historical Society in Cos Cob, Conn., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013.
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Karen Frederick, curator and exhibitions, makes postcards during the installation, The New Spirit and the Cos Cob Art Colony: Before and After the Armory Show, at Greenwich Historical Society in Cos Cob, Conn., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013.
Photo: Helen Neafsey

A painting from Theodore Robinson, hangs on the wall during the installation, The New Spirit and the Cos Cob Art Colony: Before and After the Armory Show, at Greenwich Historical Society in Cos Cob, Conn., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013.
Photo: Helen Neafsey

It is one thing to talk about artists' influences, it's quite another thing to see them. Such is the underlying premise behind a new exhibition that opened this week at the Greenwich Historical Society.

"This is the first exhibition to illustrate the `Armory Show's' direct influence on a group of artists, specifically the Cos Cob art colony," Valerie Ann Leeds, guest curator of "The New Spirit and the Cos Cob Art Colony: Before and After the Armory Show," noted in a recent news release. "Viewers will be able to compare artists' works from before and after the `Armory Show' and see to what degree they embraced modernism as the movement became assimilated into the mainstream of American art."

On a larger scale, the "Armory Show," or, as it was formally known, the "International Exhibition of Modern Art," had an extreme influence on the trajectory of American art. When it opened on Feb. 17, 1913, in Manhattan, it was the first large exhibition of modern art in the United States, bringing American artists together with their European counterparts, the latter of which were experimenting with form, color and perspective. It caused a stir among the masses who attended the show, as well as collectors. And, if the work on display at the historical society is any indication, it also roused local artists.

On a recent morning, Susan Larkin, former chairwoman of the Greenwich Historical Society, and Karen Frederick, the society's curator and exhibitions coordinator, pointed out some of those shifts in style, some subtle and others stark.

A trio of works from D. Putnam Brinley, who grew up in the Riverside section of Greenwich, shows how his landscapes evolve in time -- ending with a study of a larger piece, "The Emerald Pool," which would be among the six pieces he displayed at the "Armory Show." The color is a bit bolder and forms more delineated than the others. In the case of Henry Fitch Taylor, who lived in Cos Cob from 1898 to 1908, the influence is entirely evident -- one need only look at "An Old Pasture (1893)" and "Figure with Guitar 1 (1915)" to see the shift.

"Some hardly change at all," Frederick said, adding that she hopes the exhibit will add to the "Armory Show" scholarship.

"It's been exciting to see the work come in, even if you know it well," said Larkin, who is the author of the book, "The Cos Cob Art Colony: Impressionists on the Connecticut Shore." She also has contributed an essay for the catalogue of the "Armory Show" retrospective at the New-York Historical Society.

She said the Greenwich show covers two generations of the art colony, members of which worked, and in some cases lived, at the society's Bush-Holley House from the early 1880s to the 1920s; the house served as a boardinghouse for creative spirits.

There are other exhibitions taking place in the country in light of the centennial, including the one at the New-York Historical Society and others at the Montclair (N.J.) Art Museum and the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. The Greenwich show also provides a behind-the-scenes look at the Armory event through buttons, posters, postcards, invitations and documents largely saved by Elmer MacRae, a Cos Cob artist who lived in the Holley House with his wife, Emma (nee Holley), as well as items from private and museum collections.

The collection of printed material and trinkets is a visual reminder that many artists in the Cos Cob art colony also played important roles in establishing the show. MacRae and Taylor were there at the inception, when the show was a mere idea in 1911, and others in the group served on committees. Many others in the colony were members of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors, the organization that presented the show.

MacRae, Larkin said, has yet to truly be given credit for his role in the show.

"He was a central figure in the story, but was very modest and didn't trumpet himself," she noted in a recent news release. "But others did and they wrote the history."

Leeds said she expects there will be some "wonderful surprises" for those who visit the society.

"You can really look at a granular level of how this show had an impact ... in some cases the work radically changes," she said, adding there also will be works of the Cos Cob artists that are rarely seen. "These will be a revelation."